A letter to Ed Young

Found on Facebook, from an alumnus of Second Baptist School to Pastor Ed Young, reprinted in full because you need to see it.

Ed Young

MY LETTER TO THE SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION:

Thank you again for featuring me in the Eagle magazine recently. It was an honor to be included.

A friend of mine forwarded the below email from Dr. Young. My understanding is that the letter was sent to the membership of the church. While the letter’s message does not surprise me, it deeply disappoints me.

I loved my time at Second Baptist School. I was a part of your community from kindergarten through my senior year of high school. I was class president, yearbook editor, drama club president, and actively gave my time and talents to my school. I am still in touch with many of my fellow alumni and several wonderful teachers. While I have numerous great memories of SBS, Dr. Young’s letter is a shining example of why I have been unable to support the school monetarily. There are many positive values taught at SBS, but it seems in the 28 years since my graduation, there has been no progress in Dr. Young’s hurtful teachings about gay and lesbian people.

The equality ordinance under consideration by the Houston City Council is more reflective of the teachings of Christ than the misleading and politicized letter from Dr. Young to the church’s members. The ordinance is designed to protect Houstonians from discrimination that would affect their livelihood and ability to have a roof over their heads. I was fired from my first job out of college, simply because the conservative Christian president of the company found out that I was a gay man. For Second Baptist to take a strong stand in favor of this kind of discrimination seems profoundly out of line with the teachings of Jesus. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is not reflected in denying people employment.

To say Americans have a right to refuse service to people who are gay also feels highly out of line with the teachings of Christ. Does Dr. Young feel the same about American’s rights to refuse service to people of a different ethnicity? Would he write a letter encouraging policy that would allow business owners to refuse service to someone of a different faith? Of course not. This is specifically about the demonization of LGBT people.

To imply that this ordinance is designed to legalize the actions of sexual predators might be politically effective, however, it’s not true. Predatory behavior and sexual assault will still be quite illegal in Houston. I have to assume Dr. Young is smart enough to know that and was willing to dial up the rhetoric to accomplish his goal.

Most of all, I am concerned for the young gay and lesbian people who are in the care of Second Baptist, both the school and the church. This aggressive political agenda from Dr. Young only serves to teach them that they are less than worthy in the eyes of their community, and it encourages their families to alienate their own children, based on misinformation and fear. The suicide rate of gay youth, often from religious families, is still far too high for caring Christians to remain silent.

I do not write this letter out of spite; I genuinely care about the school where I spent 13 years of my life. I encourage Dr. Young, Second Baptist School and Second Baptist Church to be less concerned with “daring to be Daniel” and more concerned with immolating Christ. When the school reflects these values, I will be more than happy to become an avid donor.

Best Regards,
Kyle Young
Class of 1986

Bravo, Kyle Young. I can only wonder what Ed Young (I presume there’s no relation) would say to you if he had the guts to say to your face what he’s been saying to others.

3 Comments

Hopefully Kyle isn’t promoting burning Jesus alive. (Hasn’t He suffered enough already?) Other than that small critique, it’s a pretty powerful response. I wonder if 2nd will still invite him to the class reunions now?

His assertion that he needed the NDO to protect him from an unlawful termination is without merit. Sexual orientation is a federally protected class that actually would allow for a substantial recovery if proven. The NDO is a municipal law. That is it. Write them a ticket? Really? This will come back to bite Parker in a way this blog can not imagine. If she wants County judge, she will have a hard time making it through a primary when she has so many in the African American community opposed. In the general she could suffer massive cross-over votes in the Hispanic community. The excact same scenio plays out state wide as well. I could appreciate her courage in this cause if it were three years ago, but in her final term? This is pretty much what it appears-Mayor Parker seeking to enact what motivated her to run for city council over 16 years ago.

Jason, you are completely misinformed. There is no federal law of any sort which protects employees from being fired for sexual orientation. There is a bill before Congress, ENDA, which would provide such protections.